Understanding Expression References (Report Builder 2.0)

SQL Server 2008

When you write an expression in Reporting Services, you have access to many built-in fields, built-in collections, and functions that you can use alone or combine with other terms. When you create an expression interactively in the Expression dialog box, you can explore the categories of references that you can include, and see context-sensitive examples of constants, built-in collections, and functions available for including in your expressions. For examples of where you can use expressions, see Using Expressions (Report Builder 2.0) and Expression Examples (Report Builder 2.0).

You can add function calls, operators, constants, fields, parameters, items from the built-in collections, and references to embedded custom code or custom assemblies. Built-in function calls include aggregation and report calculations, the Visual Basic run-time library, and .NET Framework common language runtime (CLR) classes for Math and Convert. You can also include references to other .NET Framework classes and external assemblies.

When you create an expression for a specific report item property, the types of references you can include depend on the values that the property can accept. For example, if you create an expression for the value for a Font property, the value must evaluate to the name of a font.

The following table shows the kinds of references you can include in an expression.